Our Heritage Places
The Beach to Bay Heritage Area is packed full of heritage places to visit and explore. Countless historical sites and markers help tell our history here. For example, we have Whitehaven Historic Village, a community first settled in the 1600s along the Wicomico River offers visitors a glimpse of our maritime history and a walking tour of a preserved rural village. Further east in Snow Hill, there is Furnace Town Historic Site, a former company town centered around the iron industry that has been reclaimed by nature. Today, restoration work has made this location a historic site that functions as a museum. Near the Southern tip of Maryland's Eastern Shore there is the Manonoakin Indian Town marker commemorating the village of the Manonoakin, a subtribe of the Pocomoke Nation that was located two miles southwest of Indian Neck. These sites and markers are not only vital to preserve our history and culture, but also help teach others about it!
There's also plenty of African American Heritage sites to check out. San Domingo in Mardela Springs, which has been nominated to be recognized as a National Historic Site, is one of the few surviving Rosenwald Schools in the area. The other in our area is Germantown School in Berlin, which serves as a community center hosting events and exhibits year round. Over 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were built across the American South to help educate Black children. Today, only about 500 of these historic schools still exist. We are also home to the Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, which was formerly known as the John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. Originally raised in 1838, this is the oldest standing African American church on Delmarva
On top of that we have several other attractions that contribute to our Shore culture. Restaurants, Farmers Markets, and Distilleries help define Shore life and are popular ways to savor our cuisine.
There's also plenty of African American Heritage sites to check out. San Domingo in Mardela Springs, which has been nominated to be recognized as a National Historic Site, is one of the few surviving Rosenwald Schools in the area. The other in our area is Germantown School in Berlin, which serves as a community center hosting events and exhibits year round. Over 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were built across the American South to help educate Black children. Today, only about 500 of these historic schools still exist. We are also home to the Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, which was formerly known as the John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. Originally raised in 1838, this is the oldest standing African American church on Delmarva
On top of that we have several other attractions that contribute to our Shore culture. Restaurants, Farmers Markets, and Distilleries help define Shore life and are popular ways to savor our cuisine.
Exploring Our Heritage Places
With so many places to visit, it can be a little overwhelming, but we have a few handy tools to help visitors and residents locate and visit our heritage places. One of them is our "Explore the Lower Eastern Shore!" page. Here, users can go examine locations by category (Museums, Farmers Market, Black Heritage, etc.) This same site can also be used to find out about local events such as festivals, workshops, lectures, and more! This makes it a great tool to find out about local happenings at a glance.
For a more in depth examination, our Story Mapping page is the way to go! Story mapping is a technique using GIS technology to visualize content or stories along two dimensions:
• activities or steps of the journey
• stories and content that support each activity
This site offers several maps showing visitors museums, water trails, byways, historical markers, historic places, public art, arts & entertainment districts, and other categories to explore! These maps also have a level of interactivity, allowing users to zoom in on points of interest and click on locations for more information on each. Users can also type their current location and set a radius to find places near them to explore! All of this helps create a more holistic view of the Lower Shore. It also enhances the visitor experience by providing an easy to use tool that can help in planning trips to the Lower Eastern Shore in advance, or help visitors find things to do on the fly while they're here!
For a more in depth examination, our Story Mapping page is the way to go! Story mapping is a technique using GIS technology to visualize content or stories along two dimensions:
• activities or steps of the journey
• stories and content that support each activity
This site offers several maps showing visitors museums, water trails, byways, historical markers, historic places, public art, arts & entertainment districts, and other categories to explore! These maps also have a level of interactivity, allowing users to zoom in on points of interest and click on locations for more information on each. Users can also type their current location and set a radius to find places near them to explore! All of this helps create a more holistic view of the Lower Shore. It also enhances the visitor experience by providing an easy to use tool that can help in planning trips to the Lower Eastern Shore in advance, or help visitors find things to do on the fly while they're here!